The Last Weekend in Australia

Evan hasn't been able to get to the beach while in Sydney, so we planned on doing that this weekend. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been too cooperative. On Friday, we took the ferry to Manly and we were able to get in a few hours of sunshine. Campbell isn't a big fan of the ocean water, but she likes the beach. 

It rained all day Saturday, so we walked around our neighbourhood and went to the markets. Sunday's weather was slightly better, so we went to Bronte and walked along the cliffs, but the on-and-off rain kept us from spending time on the beach.

We head back to the US on Thursday. We've had a great few months exploring Australia and New Zealand, but we're excited to return home to our friends and family. Thanks for following our adventures on our blog!

Day-dreaming about no rain

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

Rainbow over the Harbour

Around town this week

Courtney and Campbell love playing tourist while Evan works during the week. They ventured to the Chinese Friendship Gardens in Darling Harbour one day earlier this week and had authentic Chinese Yum Cha at the Sydney Fish Market with other "mums and bubs" (moms & babies) on Friday. 

On Saturday night, Evan handled baby duty while Courtney climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge with friends, Margi and Dan.  The climb was a 3.5 hour trek with beautiful views of the city.  We wrapped up the week watching the YouTube Symphony and light show at the Opera House from our apartment window.  Musicians from all over the world were voted on to become a part of this 101 symphony ensemble based on their YouTube auditions. They've had performances all week and tonight's finale projected images on the Opera House.  

Chinese Friendship Gardens

Chinese Friendship Gardens

Courtney climbing the Harbour Bridge on Saturday night

YouTube Symphony and light show on the Opera House

New Zealand

Earlier this week, Courtney and Campbell took the ferry over to Manly, one of Sydney's most popular beaches. They spent the day with Courtney's friend, Ina, and her baby, Siena.

This weekend, we took a quick trip to New Zealand. We arrived in Auckland around noon and took a ferry to Devonport, a Victorian-style suburb of Auckland. We climbed up a few hills and had some great views of the city. On Saturday, we rented a car and drove around the countryside. We saw lots of sheep and cows. We also visited Bridal Veil Falls, a secluded waterfall. Then we drove down to Waitomo, where there are miles of underground caves. We took a boat tour and saw their famous glowworms.

At the beach in Manly, one of Sydney's northern beaches

In Auckland, on the ferry to Devonport

Auckland

Bridal Veil Falls in northern New Zealand

The halfway point

We've been in Sydney for a little over five weeks now, so we have less than four remaining. Courtney and Campbell went to the Art Museum of New South Wales on Wednesday. We went to the symphony on Friday night at the Sydney Opera House to see Mahler No.6. It was an awesome venue and a fun date night (thanks to our friends Dan and Margi for babysitting!). 

On Saturday, we drove out to the Blue Mountains, about two hours from the city. We went hiking and took some scenic rides on a skyway. Evan has mastered driving on the left side of the road. Next weekend, we're off to New Zealand.

Happy 8 month birthday, Campbell Virginia

Campbell got baby Uggs for her birthday on Thursday, but they won't fit her til next winter. And yes, Uggs are cheaper here, but not by much.

Weekend at The Great Barrier Reef

This weekend, we flew up to northern Queensland and stayed in Port Douglas. It's a great launching point to visit The Great Barrier Reef. Our hotel was the Sheraton Mirage Resort, and we had it mainly to ourselves because it's the low season. It rained all weekend, but we still had a great time. 

On Friday, the hotel also provided high tea for us in the afternoon. As you'll see below, there was more food than tea. We ate a great little restaurant in town on Friday night called The Salsa Bar & Grill. 

On Saturday, we did an excursion to the reef. We both snorkeled and took a submarine tour of the reef, where we got to see a shark. The rain and clouds made the snorkeling a little less enjoyable, but it was still amazing. Everyone on the boat loved Campbell, the youngest passenger. We ordered in pizza on Saturday night to avoid the rain.

On Sunday, we went back in to town for Sunday brunch because the rainforest excursion we had planned was canceled due to the rain. Courtney was excited because the pancakes and fruit that she ordered came with ice cream on top. Evan had the usual (anything with bacon).

We're back in Sydney now and Campbell has logged some more sky miles after the weekend. 

PS-Some thoughts on flying in Australia. Getting through security is scarily easy (never had to show an ID once, didn't have to take off shoes, they don't care about liquids or gels). However, it's a "rule" that your window shade can't be closed during takeoff and landing (still haven't figured out why).

One of the waterfalls at our resort

Campbell getting her picture taken at The Great Barrier Reef

Evan before he goes snorkeling at the reef

"High Tea" at the resort

Four Mile Beach next to our resort (the only five minutes all weekend when it didn't rain)

Dada

Random Sydney Happenings

Earlier this week, the two "Queens" met in Sydney Harbour...it was quite the fuss and people drove in from other parts of Australia to see the ships.  We had the perfect view from our apartment - see pic below.  Together, the ships hold 6,000 passengers and apparently brought more than AUS$3 million into the Sydney economy.

Campbell and Courtney *love* the Botanic Gardens and go at least once a week. It's only a 10 minute walk from our apartment.  This week, we rode the train, which gave a great tour of the gardens.  Campbell liked it so much that we took the tour twice. :)

With the close proximity of Australia to New Zealand, all of the news was about the earthquake in Christchurch that hit this week.  We're planning to go to New Zealand in two weeks, but we won't be near where the quake hit.  

We are off to Port Douglas in Queensland, which is our starting off point to see the Great Barrier Reef.  We can't wait to post pics of our adventure. 

The Queen Mary II and the Queen Elizabeth II meet in Sydney Harbour

Riding the train around the Botanic Gardens

We even rode it a second time because she liked it so much

Welcome Scarlett Estelle!

The mot exciting thing since we've been here is the birth of our second niece, Scarlett, on February 9th. We can't wait to meet her when we get back to the States! Here's her doing a baby fist pump.

Taronga Zoo

 Evan took the day off on Friday and we went to the Taronga Zoo, just across 

the harbour. We saw baby elephants and crocodiles and kangaroos. Evan's favorite part was getting to pet the bellies of some baby piglets, which reminded him of Winston.

On the ferry to the zoo

Showing the giraffes her giraffe outfit

Sleeping chimpanzees

Campbell and the kangaroo

Long day at the zoo

Checking out Sydney's wildlife

Courtney and Campbell have made some new friends (mums) in the past week. They visited the aquarium, Wildlife World, and the Sydney Tower (the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere). Campbell's favorite activities have been watching herself in the mirror and staring at the vacuum when our housekeeper comes each day.

At the aquarium with new friends, Sienna and Maddie

Checking out the baby sharks

Wildlife World - The komodo dragon must have eaten her right sock

Fireworks show from our apartment

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Week 2

Campbell and Courtney explored the city while Evan continued to work on his project.  The highlight of the week for Courtney and Campbell was attending an Australian playgroup for "mums."  There were kids from all over the world and Courtney and Campbell learned more Aussie baby jargon.  Stroller=Pram, Diaper=Nappie, Pacifier=Dummie.  Campbell turned 7 months last week and has been crawling everywhere for the past month, but now she is starting to pull up and learn to stand.  She loves being pushed around town in her pram! 

Also, Campbell's cousin #2, Scarlett Estelle was born this week on February 9th - she is perfect!  We can't wait to meet her when we get back to the States.  Welcome to the world, Baby Scarlett!

Museum of Australia

Learning to stand - her giant bow helps her balance

Keeping her keys close

Riding the bus to Darling Harbour

Playgroup

Surviving Week One

Just a few weeks ago, Evan was asked to go to Sydney for an 9 week work project. Since neither of us had been to Australia before, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. We only had about a week to get flights, order passports, and pack, but everything came together.

We survived the 17-hour flight. Fortunately, we were able to fly business class and have fully reclining chairs. Campbell and Evan got more sleep than Courtney did, so we didn't explore the city too much when we arrived on Sunday morning. Evan began work on Monday, consulting for one of the country's largest retailers. The McKinsey office is just a 10 minute walk from our high-rise apartment. The apartment is fully furnished and has a great view of the harbour, bridge, and opera house. It's also a two-bedroom, so Campbell's days of sleeping in our living room are on hiatus for at least two months.

Despite the constant 100 degree temperatures, Courtney and Campbell have been exploring the city on a daily basis, checking out some museums and the botanic gardens. We also made a trip to the mall on Saturday to pick up the necessities we couldn't pack (extra diapers, a bathtub, and a walker). Evan's been making almost daily trips to the grocery store since our fridge is pretty small. The prices here on some items are almost twice as much as in the States. Produce is about to get worse because a cyclone just hit northeast Australia and wiped out most of the crops. 

We'll try to post updates every few days. There are a ton of things we're hoping to do while we're here: the zoo, New Zealand, the Great Barrier Reef, and climbing up the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Come back to our blog and visit often.

Here are a few pictures from our first week:

The view from our apartment

Playing on the bed

Royal Botanic Gardens

Museum in The Rocks district